So, I really want to hear from you guys. I want to hear what you're thinking and I need some challenges to keep me going. I need a little more accountability to someone other than myself and ChickenCow, who cannot hold me accountable like you guys can. :)
I have a workout partner that I see on Mondays. I looooove working out with a friend cos its really motivating and keeps things interested. And we get to chat throughout. That's the bestest part. I really can't wait until it gets warmer and we can all start walking and hiking together. And Wednesday evenings when we can 'rent' bikes at Druid Hill Park for a small donation and ride them around the loop!
I made this sign awhile ago to keep me motivated. I think it needs a redesign, because I keep walking past it in my house and in my offices (work and home) and I barely look at it. If you think it's a recent picture in which I look skinnier, that's because I took it and photoshopped it a bit. There's this cool took I learned how to use. It took me several tries to get it "right", but it was a sloppy job. You can definitely tell if you look closely at the background behind me, like where the truck is on the right and the grass line on the right and left towards the middle of the photo. But anyways... the focus wasn't really on the background. The focus was on me. So I have something to look forward to.
So, what do you think? I want to know more about what keeps you guys motivated? What inspires you on your own paths? Whether that path is healthy living, building a business, or developing your career...whatever--I want to know what keeps you going.
By the way... if you think a photo edit like this might help you, I'd be happy to do some more photoshopping for friends. Just email me at kjlawless at gmail dot com!
Whoop Whoop! I'm down another 3 pounds this week! So pumped about that. :)
My nutrition coach told me I'm doing a great job by bringing a positive attitude towards change to this journey. And she really likes how I'm 'dangling carrots' in front of me. Speaking of which, I finally got my chair today!! It's awesome and has all the bells and whistles on it. But I've only sat in it once when it arrived, and I won't sit in it again until March 31st when I bring it upstairs to my office and swap it with this hard dining room chair I can't stand. I think that'll be excellent motivation in the next week!
Also, today is the first day I'm using the WW ActiveLink. I JUST realized that I forgot to wear it on my long walk with Dave so the activity wasn't (and won't be) registered. That's a BIG BUMMER. Wow I'm so sad. I guess this means I'll be remembering to take it everywhere all the time from now on?
I've been realizing that I carry a lot of stuff around with me for the specific purpose of weight loss. I think it helps keep me focused. 95% of the time, I have a water bottle glued at the hip. Now I'm adding my ActiveLink, too (about the size of a pedometer, but I keep it concealed). And, more often than not, I'm starting to carry a bag of fresh fruit and/or vegetables.
Do you guys carry anything around with you? The water bottle can be a bit obtrusive, but water is super important. Side note: I need to track my water intake better, so I've made myself a reminder on my calendar--and I'll get an email everyday--until it's a habit. '
Okay, one more thing! I found this interesting infographic on obesity today and wanted to share it. Click the image to re-direct to Visual.ly!
I recently was looking at a food label for something. The sodium level for the serving was 400 mg, 17% DV. I realized I really had no idea what these numbers meant. Were they low? high? Had I already consumed any sodium that day?
I finally stumbled upon an answer today.
According to the American Heart Association (by way of the US Dept of Agriculture, and a few other resources like the CDC, too), Americans consume 3,436 mg of sodium on average daily; that's well over the recommended 1500mg milligrams. It seems most of that comes from highly processed foods, but could also include addition of table salt to meals as well as ordering food/take out.
So, a low sodium serving is considered to be 5% DV or less OR less than 140 mg per serving. So the next time I'm checking nutrition labels at the grocery store, I'll pay close attention to this one!
YOU GUYS!!! I just made the BEST cookies ever, all thanks to Pinterest. 3 ingredients, 10 minutes of prep (probably less), and 20 minutes in the oven. Bananas, quick oats, chocolate chips. That's it!!
So I modified the original Burlap Bag recipe a little bit. I used 4 frozen-then-thawed bananas. (I'm not sure how the original recipe calls for only 2 fresh bananas, but I think probably something happens in the freeze/thaw process that makes it so you need more of them.) And I added 1/3 cup chocolate chips. The whole recipe made about 16 medium-sized cookies.
I baked them for 17 minutes and they came out very nicely! A little soft though. I'm curious to see whether they'll harden after sitting out a little bit. If not, that's OK cos I like the texture anyway. They're delicious warm, and 2 WW+ points each. A little high for what you get, but I could probably take out the chocolate chips next time and they'd be 1 point each. Or maybe try mini chocolate chips instead. Either way, I think these are SUPER easy and much healthier than the thousands of store-bought cookies.
I also made banana peanut butter chocolate ice cream (added a little chocolate syrup), but these came out to 5 WW+ points per 1/4 cup. I'm sort of surprised by that, especially since I used this new PB called "Better N Peanut Butter", which is SO MUCH better for you than 99% of the peanut butters I've come across. (It's at TJs in Columbia, if you're looking for it!)
Anyway, the ice cream'll probably taste good (the batter did--guilt-less spoon-licking!), but maybe a little less peanut butter/syrup next time. Oh well. I'm siked for now anyway. :)
So, some of you may remember when I was searching for and bought a new office chair this past fall. But it never arrived because the business went bankrupt. My credit card company (thank goodness I bought it via Citi!) refunded me and I stopped looking, feeling hopeless. I really wanted a nice ergonomic chair with a mesh back and lots of adjustments. I had finally found it and it didn't cost $1k like those Hermann Miller chairs do. I was so excited to get it, and then lost all hope thinking I'd never find it again anywhere else....
And then...EUREKA! The other day, I thought... why don't I just look up the manufacturer? DUH. They've still gotta be selling the chair, right? And so, I emailed them. And I got a call back from a guy close by. He actually used to work for the bankrupt business, but now works for a larger, much more stable company. So today I was on the phone with him and he had most of my information got my order and made the sale for the original price (which was marked down by $100 from the original catalog entry!!). I expected the arrival date to be more like '2 months' like it was the last time...but nope! 1 week!!
So, I cheated a little bit. My new office chair was supposed to be my month-end reward, and I just bought it (well, half of it) today. And it will arrive sometime next week. And it's only the middle of the month. So what does this mean? It means that I'll pick it up when I can after it arrives and pay the difference. And then it means I'll take it home and sit it in the dining room until the month is over. I think that may be even more motivating cos it'll be in my way and very much in my daily sight and I'll really want to take it upstairs with me at the end of the month.
Also, if anyone out there is looking for a chair (or office furniture)...this retailer in Towson could help! I know Staples and Office Depot has chairs, too, but I really wanted to find a place that had great customer service and chairs with all the features. Not many chairs at either of those stores had really what I wanted, and every time I walked into the stores I never seemed to get much help. Anyway, I had a hard time finding a place like this (they don't yet have a warehouse), and was really happy to find this chair, finally.
So, I never posted last week's weigh in. Mostly because I didn't make time until now, and partly because it was a measly .6 pounds lost. This week, I'm down another .4 pounds, so now that we're in whole numbers again, I can say I've lost another pound! While I've ramped up my workouts, I've probably over-indulged a few times. I really really really need to be much more careful (as opposed to carefree) when it comes to hanging out with friends.
I think it's the alcohol. UGH I hate to say that! But... oh well. I have to do what I have to do, so I'm instituting a 2-drink limit from now on. I need to see better progress than .4 pounds in a week and hard (but fun!) times are ahead. There's a lot coming up in the next few weeks. Lots of birthdays, parties and events, so I really need to be uber-focused. I hope you'll excuse me if I'm late because I'm at home eating a salad before I come over. :)
So, since I started this whole thing (recently, I mean)...since I sent out emails and created the Facebook group, I've heard this little demon talking to me. It's the demon of doubt. That thing in the back of my head that says I can't do what I'm setting out to do, no matter how hard I try. Sometimes, it even assumes the voice and shape of friends. I can't be sure where this voice comes from, or why it takes up the shape of some and not others, or why it takes up space inside my head, but I can tell you that it's there.
I see it roll its eyes at the back of my head. I hear it say things like "I've seen this all before, don't you remember? You did this last year and look how that turned out. You got no where. You ended up worse than before. Why are you even bothering again?" And then there's a whole lot of "Why do you write about yourself the way you do? It's just so self important. What did Brad Pitt say in Fight Club...? 'Self improvement is masturbation.'? Well, that's where you are." And that's not even the worst of it.
I really hate this demon. I want it out. I want to cast aside all its negativity and shove it to the ground. And then I'll be surrounded by smiles, sun light and complete positivity. But before I get all yogi up in this blog, I have something to tell you: I think the demon pushes me, perhaps by mistake.
While it tries to pull me back, it pushes me forward. It's my devil's advocate that I'm destined to prove wrong. It can roll its eyes all it wants. It can try its best to shake and rattle me from this path, but I will not sway. I will not waiver. Stumble or fall, I will move forward.
So to this demon voice, I say: keep pushing. Keep driving. Scream at me all you want. Terrorize as you will, and later...I might just thank you for doing so. ... Right after I thank all those amazing cheerleaders who are excited for me and who are on the path with me. You are my guiding light, and some of the most amazing people I know.
Fruit, veggies, grains and proteins, and healthy fat!
If you google the title of this recipe, you'll find a few variations. But I'm willing to bet these bloggers are Clean Eating subscribers and found the original recipe in a magazine in the 18 months. I did! I made this last year with my sister on a cooking day where we planned and cooked 4 meals for us to freeze (in preparation for my final semester in grad school). I really liked this recipe and thought it froze relatively well. It's sort of a wet meal--the couscous cooks in orange juice and broth and stores up a lot of liquid, so re-heating was easier. Or maybe I just added a tad of water to re-heat...Either way, it worked well!
So, this time around, I added about 3 cups of spinach (packed into the 3 cups!) It was the perfect amount, even though it looked like way too much going into the pot. There are several really great things about this meal. For one, its got a lot of major food groups! For two, its SUPER healthy. 9 WW+ points! For three, after the prep is done, you use 1 large pan with a lid to cook it all in--which makes for a super nice and easy clean up. (Dave appreciated that!)
Anyways, the link I'm sharing calls for 3 tangerines or fresh juice. The original recipe calls for a 1/2 cup of mandarin juice AND 3 sectioned mandarins. I like the latter better, I think because you *see* the oranges and taste them throughout the dish. Also, I wouldn't use frozen broccoli or onions in this one (unless you cook them ahead of time before placing them in the large pan) because I think frozen veggies often have extra water in them, and that will throw off the flavors.
I could probably live on chicken tacos for the rest of my life. They are so yummy and the best part is that you can add so many veggies and flavors in them!
I used this recipe on Friday to make chicken tacos for a small party of girls at the house. (Thanks Alicia, for sending me to skinnytaste.com, which has WW point values for all recipes!) The tacos were DEEEELICIOUS. And so fun to build. I use medium-sized whole wheat taco shells and heat them up in the mini-oven. Then I slather on about a tablespoon or so of Greek yogurt (I have started using it in place of sour cream because a) they taste almost the same [and you can't really taste the sour cream once you pile on the spices--its just there for texture and helps keep things together, I think], b) the sour cream always goes bad, and c) I always have Greek yogurt in the house). Then shredded lettuce, taco filling, cheese, salsa or adobo/chipolte sauce. AND THEN I EAT IT.
Now I'm hungry. See what you did?? This weekend, I infused jalapeno margaritas. They were good, but I think next time I'll buy more than 1 jalapeno for the bottle... the recipe I read calls for 4 per 750ml. I'll go in that direction next time.
Umm anyways... what do you think of the recipe?? I added some onion to it and some peppers. I might just put in a crap-load of spinach next time, too, to fortify it with iron. :)
Do you guys have any other favorite healthy crock-pot recipes? I doubled the batch and it made a lot! I might just freeze some. I'd really love to get in the habit of making big dishes so week nights can be a little easier from time to time!
So it's been 4 weeks since I've started this journey and I'm feeling pretty good about my progress so far.
I lost another pound last week, which means I'm .4 pounds away from my 5% goal. And I'm already planning a weekend trip to see some friends in Johnson City, TN as a result of this level-up! Thanks for the motivation kick, guys!
So the total weight lost? Drum roll please?! 9.2 pounds!! Incredible progress for the first month. I didn't expect that at all, especially so fast. I think it will slow down eventually, though. This really interesting motion graphic video explains why:
Neat, huh? Stupid metabolic adaptation! Oh well. Those Epipheo video production guys are pretty awesome, though, right?
Anyways, onwards with vigilance! So this week I've taken some time, as planned, to reassess my plan. (You should see the massive spreadsheet I'm dealing with. It's got at least 8 tabs. If you're interested, I'll show you...just ask.) I've learned this month that I really like circuit strength training with people in a class, with a friend. Having a specific plan and someone(s) working with me is really motivating, and having a routine and an expectation of fulfilling it is really important.
So, instead of 20-minute daily workouts (which haven't been working at all lately), I'm scheduling 4 workouts a week this month (and maybe next month, too). Tuesdays are Body Pump, Thursdays are ZUMBA!, and Mondays are for working out with a friend. Finally, I have a flexible workout scheduled for the weekend. It can be anything, with anyone or anywhere. As long as it happens! I'd prefer a Saturday morning gym class, but it will depend on what's happening. I'm also going to buy a new electronic tool from Weight Watchers called Active Link. It's sort of like a pedometer but it tracks all activity and syncs to the WW account! It's supposed to be a really motivational tool to help you level-up your activity.
Let's see, what else? Oh yes, meditation. I haven't been meditating the past two weeks. So I'm going to get back into that. I'm working on increasing my wake-up time to 7am every morning. I think that'll give me more time to meditiate and perhaps work on personal projects and prepare for the day's events. Plus, hopefully I'll remember to make my own coffee in the morning so I don't buy any at the crappy spot near my office. This also means, though, I need to be better about going to sleep earlier. And I've set an alarm on my phone to remind me at nighttime. :) #nerdface
I think I've been pretty good about journaling this month, but I do want to blog more than once a week! A friend was talking to me about making this blog more relevant to YOU guys and less about me, me, me. So I want to start sharing more things that will engage and inform you all. And maybe make you laugh?
I have a series of links (mostly from Lifehacker) that I'm going to start sharing more of. They helped me develop my plan and understand how to (and how not to) achieve goals! Maybe they'll help you, too. By the way---how are all of you doing on your resolutions so far? Also, if you see something relevant to this blog, please share it with me! Email me, facebook me, or type it up in the comments section. I'm also excited to potentially have some guest posts....more to come on that!
And then there's planning and organizing! Two things I love.love.love! I'm going to start grocery shopping on weekdays when fewer people are at the grocery store. I'm sooo sick of going with the masses to the grocery stores on weekends. It takes too much time out of the weekend, waiting in line and all, and I'd really like to use my weekend time a little differently for some other professional goals I have. (I'm freelancing now!!)
Finally, in my original plan I set out to design motivational/affirmational posters for myself. I still want to do this, but it's not something that is *crucial*. It's still in my goal list, but if I don't get to it I'm not going to feel guilty or punish myself. I'm a busy girl so squeezing in a workout and food prep/planning is pretty much good for me!
So, this month, I'm going to continue meditating, logging the food I eat and workouts I do, plus workout 4 times a week with people/friends. I'm giving myself 1 reward a week, and a bonus award to look forward to at the end of a successful month: a new office chair! (Dave will be so happy when I stop stealing his!) My next 5% goal (which would be 10%), should be reached by June or July. That seems to be FOREVER away, so I'm hoping my month-end goal will push me further!!
